National Association of Home Builders Discusses Economics and Housing Policy

Who are NAHB’s Builder Members?

Every year the National Association of Home Builders conducts a member census in order to better understand the composition and characteristics of the people who belong to its organization. In 2015, 32 percent of NAHB’s members were builders—those directly involved in home building. The remaining 68 percent were associate members—those involved in supportive industries and professions, such as trade contractors, manufacturers, retailers/distributors, designers, and architects.

Exhibit 1. Share of Builder Members by Primary Business Activity – 2015 (Percent of Respondents)

Company Details

NAHB’s builder members reported that they had a median of 5 employees on payroll in 2015. Twelve percent had 1 employee, 33 percent 2 to 4 employees, 25 percent had 5 to 9, 23 percent had 10 to 49, and 4 percent had 50 or more paid employees. Three percent had no payroll at all.

In 2015, builder members started a median of 5 housing units, which is unchanged from the 5 started in 2014 and 2013, but higher than the median of 4 units started in 2012 and the 3 in 2011.

The median dollar volume of builder members in 2015 was $2.5 million, about 14 percent higher than the median dollar volume in 2014 ($2.2 million). The 2015 median is the highest it has been since the member census was launched in 2008.

Builder Details

The median age of NAHB builder members is 56. More than half (52 percent) have either a college or an advanced degree.

For more details about NAHB builder members and a profile of each type of member, please visit housingeconomics.com or click here for the full article.

For details on NAHB’s associate members, please look out for next month’s article on housingeconomics.com.